Financing Assisted Living for Yourself or a Loved One

Assisted living care can cost upwards of $5,000 a month and many Americans have found that they or their senior loved ones are running out of money to cover their care.Financing Assisted Living

Here are some expert tips to help your finances go further during these difficult times.

Retirement costs are often much higher than people anticipate and can drastically affect the quality of you or your loved one’s retirement years. Searching for assisted living can be both emotionally and mentally draining, not to mention time-sensitive, which is why families often end up spending more than they need to on care.

The future of housing looks nothing like today’s

What does a living room have to do with living?

When Lisa Cini and her husband, kids, and rescue dog moved in with her parents and grandmother a few years ago, the Ohio-based architect pored over the design of her 94-year-old grandma’s bedroom “apartment.” An Alzheimer’s diagnosis made security and mobility important, but her ideas went beyond extra locks and grab-bars; she felt it was crucial that she have her own living room within the family home.

8 Expert Tips for When Aging Parents Won’t Listen

Our parents always asked that we listen, but what happens when they refuse to listen to us? Some adult children are finding that their parents don’t always know best when it comes to their driving, housing, medication and more.8 Expert Tips for When Aging Parents Won’t Listen

Learn more about what to do when your aging parents aren’t listening to you.

Research out of Penn State University, the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging and the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, found that 77% of adult children believe their parents are stubborn about taking their advice or getting help with daily problems.

4 Ways to Get Someone with Dementia to Change Clothes

A common challenge for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers is figuring out how to get someone with dementia to change clothes regularly.

The damage that dementia does to the brain can cause behavior like this that doesn’t make sense to us.

Your older adult might refuse to change even if their clothes have been worn nonstop for a week and are obviously soiled and smelly. Or, they might insist on wearing the same outfit day or night. And sometimes they might choose clothing that completely clashes and looks strange.

The Key to Understanding the Challenging Behaviors of Dementia

Caregivers to parents and senior loved ones with dementia already know that it can be difficult to care for a loved one as the disease progresses. Dementia can make a person exhibit challenging behaviors and psychological symptoms that are upsetting for everyone involved.The Key to Understanding the Challenging Behaviors of Dementia

Although we can’t prevent these behaviors or changes, there are ways to better understand and deal with them. Read our tips for handling the challenging behaviors associated with dementia.

In Caregiving, Anxiety Can Be Contagious

We all live with a certain amount of worry, much of which is caused by fear of the unknown. Since health issues can change without warning, caregivers and the people they care for often live with elevated levels of anxiety. This can be detrimental, not only to the person who is suffering from these feelings of apprehension and concern, but it also affects those around them.

For example, if a caregiver is anxious due to care decisions or work-related stress, they likely bring that anxiety home in some form and unintentionally transfer some of it to the person they are caring for.

5 Benefits of An Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or Dementia

If your older adult is behaving oddly or showing signs of cognitive impairment, like memory or judgement problems, you might wonder if it’s part of normal aging or if they could have Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Nobody wants to admit that someone they care about could have such a devastating condition. And even though you’re worried, you might think it’s useless to get a diagnosis because there’s no cure.

Transforming Patient Care: 5 Nurse Leaders Offer Insight

As the healthcare landscape changes, nurse leaders are being asked to forge new paths to achieve high-quality, cost-effective patient-centered care.

For example, patient care is growing beyond acute care. Nurses are connecting with patients in more settings than ever before through new and changing roles in areas like care coordination or outpatient clinics. These new roles demand that nurses have different knowledge, skills, and competencies than in the past. Additionally, patients expect care to be delivered in a seamless, timely, and efficient manner that takes into account their personal needs and preferences. How do nurse leaders meet the challenge of the transformation of patient care?

Why Women? Studying the Role of Gender in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease hits women harder than men. Nearly two-thirds of Americans who have Alzheimer’s are women, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Worldwide, 47 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias — including nearly 6 million in the United States — so the number of women affected is staggering.

The neurodegenerative disorder’s most common form, called late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, occurs after age 65.

End-of-life issues in advanced dementia

Objective - To review the issues with setting goals of care for patients with advanced dementia, describe the respective roles of the physician and the patient’s family in the decision-making process, and suggest ways to support families who need more information about the care options.

Caregiver’s Guide to Understanding Dementia Behaviors

Caring for a loved one with dementia poses many challenges for families and caregivers. People with dementia from conditions such as Alzheimer’s and related diseases have a progressive biological brain disorder that makes it more and more difficult for them to remember things, think clearly, communicate with others, and take care of themselves.

New Approaches for Dealing With Difficult Dementia Behaviors

When most people think of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, they picture a senior with a benign, slightly confused demeanor who repeats themselves. But, there is a whole spectrum of other types of behaviors associated with the disease that most of us wouldn’t describe as slightly or “pleasantly confused” by any stretch of the imagination.

Long-Distance Caregiving: Tips for Success

End-of-Life Care: ER Doctor Answers Our Questions

Emergency-room doctor Kevin Haselhorst had an epiphany while he tried valiantly to save an elderly man who’d been through one-too-many traumas. His book, “Wishes To Die For: A Caregiver’s Guide to Advance Care Directives,” was the first step toward a new advocacy.

7 Ways to Talk to Someone With Dementia

What’s worse than finding out your loved one has Alzheimer’s? Getting an Alzheimer’s diagnosis yourself. And the stigma and social isolation that comes with the disease is no help when the loneliness starts to set in, according to dementia patients.

Lewy body dementia

Lewy body dementia, also known as dementia with Lewy bodies, is the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's disease dementia. Protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, develop in nerve cells in the brain regions involved in thinking, memory and movement (motor control).

Lewy body dementia causes a progressive decline in mental abilities. People with Lewy body dementia may experience visual hallucinations, and changes in alertness and attention. Other effects include Parkinson's disease-like symptoms such as rigid muscles, slow movement and tremors.

Causes of Hallucinations & Delusions in Dementia and Caregiver Tips for Coping

Dementia can affect how an individual perceives the world. A person with dementia may think that she / he can see or hear something that isn’t there or believe something that is not true. In earlier stages of the disease, the individual will usually be able to recognize that this is simply a figment of her imagination. However, as the disease progresses to mid and late stages, these individuals may begin to have more and more trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

Sundowning Top Tips: How to Minimize Confusion with a Daily Care Routine

The AgingCare.com forum is filled with people coming together to share valuable information. We’ve compiled experienced dementia caregivers’ suggestions for devising a routine that will minimize sundowning behaviors.

Tips for Alzheimer's Caregivers

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia impacts every aspect of your daily life. As an Alzheimer’s patient loses one ability after another, a caregiver faces tests of stamina, problem solving, and resiliency. Maintaining your emotional and physical fitness is crucial, not just for you but also for the person you’re caring for. Preparing yourself, understanding your loved one’s experience, and seeking support from others can help you succeed on the caregiving journey.

Ethical issues in dementia

The growing number of individuals affected by dementia will intensify the ethical issues that emerge in clinical practice and research, issues early in disease relate to genetic testing, use of medications in mildly affected persons, and diagnostic disclosure. Written by Peter J. Whitehouse, MD; Phd

Caregiver’s Guide to Understanding Dementia Behaviors

Caring for a loved one with dementia poses many challenges for families and caregivers. People with dementia from conditions such as Alzheimer’s and related diseases have a progressive biological braindisorder that makes it more and more difficult for them to remember things, think clearly, communicate with others, and take care of themselves.

Alzheimer's Disease and Legal Issues

People with Alzheimer's may be able to manage their own legal and financial affairs at first. But as the disease gets worse, they’ll need to rely on others to act in their best interests. It’s not an easy change.

New Approaches for Dealing With Difficult Dementia Behaviors

When most people think of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, they picture a senior with a benign, slightly confused demeanor who repeats themselves. But, there is a whole spectrum of other types of behaviors associated with the disease that most of us wouldn’t describe as slightly or “pleasantly confused” by any stretch of the imagination.

Alzheimer's stages: How the disease progresses

Alzheimer's disease tends to develops slowly and gradually worsens over several years. Eventually, Alzheimer's disease affects most areas of your brain. Memory, thinking, judgment, language, problem-solving, personality and movement can all be affected by the disease.

Researchers study alcohol's link to Alzheimer's

Nearly one century after Alzheimer's disease (AD) was discovered, doctors are still searching for its causes. Age is certainly a factor: Alzheimer's usually develops in people over age 60, and about half of people over 85 may have it. Family history also plays a role.

Dehydration and Malnutrition in Alzheimer's Disease

Occasionally you read about people with dementia who have died from malnutrition or dehydration, even when being cared for in a nursing home, hospital, or by caregivers. You cannot believe that such a situation has occurred, that it must be an obvious case of abuse.

Validation Therapy for Dementia

Developed in the 1960s and 1970s by Naomi Feil, validation therapy for dementia offers holistic therapy that empathizes with elderly patients by helping to connect with them through listening and dignified care in their final stages of life. With a little patience and observation, validation therapy also offers a glimpse into the human brain, stages of dementia, and the desire for peace before death.

Validation Therapy, Redirection

If you have a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia, then you know how difficult it can be to communicate with him or her. Maybe there are good or bad days. Maybe there are certain times of the day that are better or worse. The following are techniques that can be used improve communication with the person you love.

Dementia can be a devastating diagnosis. The characteristic problems with memory, thinking, language and judgment are a challenge, but there are also “behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia” (BPSD), including agitation, aggression, wandering, resistance to care, delusions, hallucinations and repetitive speech. These symptoms can be very upsetting for people with dementia as well as their loved ones, and are often the reason people are admitted to long-term care (1).

Hallucinations and Delusions Associated with Dementia

Dementia can affect how an individual perceives the world. A person with dementia may think that she can see or hear something that isn’t there or believe something that is not true. In earlier stages of the disease, she will usually be able to recognize that this is simply a figment of her imagination. However, as the disease progresses, these individuals may begin to have more and more trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

Hallucinations, Delusions and Paranoia Related to Dementia

According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the major psychiatric symptoms of middle stage Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia include hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. About 40 percent of dementia patients experience delusions, while hallucinations occur in about 25 percent of cases. When a senior is experiencing hallucinations and delusions, their caregiver often wants to help them understand that these beliefs and experiences are not real.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Caregiver’s Newsletter! Many of you have asked us for more information about the caregiving profession and we are now pleased to provide this to you each month.

At the end of this newsletter you will find a link to a short quiz, composed of several questions about the content. These are designed to provide a convenient way for you to earn a valuable CE Credit (continuing education) that you will need for your annual renewal.

Thank you for the work you do in eldercare. This precious group of Americans rely on you to be their eyes and ears on the world. Thank you for seeing the people they are and valuing their lives each and every day!

NCBAC Management Team

Family Caregivers Finally Get A Break — And Some Coaching

For today, there are no doctor's visits. No long afternoons with nothing to do. No struggles over bathing.

At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., a group of older adults — some in wheelchairs, some with Alzheimer's — sit with their caregivers in a semicircle around a haunting portrait of a woman in white.

All new and current CAC™ and CAEd™ can request access to the portal before your renewal date if you'd like access ASAP. Just send us an email through the website's contact us page.

Being a Healthy Caregiver

As a caregiver, you may find yourself with so many responsibilities that you neglect taking good care of yourself. But the best thing you can do for the person you are caring for is stay physically and emotionally strong.

The Invisible Profession: Caregiving And The Future Of Work

Today’s American families need more caregiving support than ever before - yet caregiving work is not visible, not valued, and not supported well enough to meet the soaring demand. Social entrepreneurs Ai-jen Poo, who leads National Domestic Workers Alliance and Caring Across Generations, and Jessica Sager, co-founder of All Our Kin, are working to radically reframe this issue and chart a new and sustainable course. Ashoka’s Brittany Koteles caught up with them to learn more.

America faces a shortage of caregivers

There is a lot of discussion today about our divided nation. Extreme partisanship, economic inequality, racism, the urban/rural schism, gender conflict – take your pick of topics. But the aging American population holds the potential to unite many of us. Regardless of our differences, people we care about may soon need our help. And we aren’t ready to help them.

My Vexing/ Gratifying 7 Years Of Caregiving

On April 26, while lying motionless in her nursing home bed with closed eyelids and a gaping mouth, my 86-year-old mother took two last short breaths before peacefully going still. Her death from complications of dementia and kidney failure brought to a close a nearly 7-year, sometimes rancorous period of family caregiving after my wife and I moved her up from Florida to live near us. We then gradually took over every aspect of her life.

NOTICE: The Certifications conferred by the NCBAC™ (Certified Alzheimer Caregiver™ "CAC™" and Certified Alzheimer Educator™ "CAEd™") are important indicators of quality care. The NCBAC™ does not license, approve nor bestow authorization to anyone the right to practice healthcare where such license or certification is regulated by any state, municipality or other government entity.